GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The motto of the U.S. Coast Guard is Semper Paratus: always ready. A Michigan crew lived up to the billing last week.
A team from the USCG Air Station in Traverse City is credited with successfully evacuating a person in need from Beaver Island on Friday, Nov. 29, despite strong winds and snow.
According to a social media post from the station, the crew flew to the island to extract an 87-year-old man who was experiencing “heart attack-like symptoms.”
“Bravo Zulu to last night’s duty crew for their successful medical evacuation,” the station said in the post. “Thanks to the continual training, teamwork and capabilities of the MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter, the crew was able to navigate snow squalls and high winds to safely transport the patient to a higher level of medical care.”
According to Weather Underground, wind speeds topped out at 18 miles per hour Friday evening, with gusts reaching up to 31 mph.